Arian Foster has a message for fantasy leaguers

Texans running back Arian Foster aggravated his hamstring injury on Saturday night, which is a concern for the Texans with the season opener only two weeks away.

Oh, and all the folks drafting Foster in fantasy leagues first overall are feeling anxious too. Foster has a message for them:

“For those sincerely concerned, I’m doing ok & plan to be back by opening day,” Foster wrote on Twitter. “For those worried about your fantasy team, you people are sick.” (Edited for clarity.)

We certainly enjoy fantasy football, but don’t blame Foster at all for his response. There’s a line you don’t cross, and he probably got about 150 messages from folks saying “I JUST DRAFTED YOU DON’T MESS THIS UP!!!”

What? Did everybody forget about the crap they pulled this off-season worrying only about “MONEY” That’s all the players care about. Only once in a while does a player care about a city and their team (Marino, Elway, Young, Bettis, etc) if they don’t get paid they leave…So what do I care about??? My fantasy team, just keeping it real. Like the players I have money riding and that is why I didn’t have Foster in my Top 10, I didn’t have him on my board at all because he’s injury prone…..

So ask yourself, do the players care about your favorite team and your city? The answer is “Only if they pay me”

I get where he’s coming from, but without fantasy football no one outside of Houston fans would give a flying fack about this guy. He’s got so many fans and so many followers BECAUSE people are concerned about their fantasy teams. Well wishes are well wishes, why does it matter what the motivation behind it is? They still want you to get healthy, and get better.

So pretty much Foster thinks anyone that owns him in a fantasy league is concerned only for their team and not his well being? Are you really surprised Arian? If you need some advice call up MJD, he knows how to deal with fantasy owners respectfully.

Arian shouldn’t look the gift horse in the mouth, fantasy football is one of the primary reasons behind the nfl’s popularity. That and gambling. I expect to be banned now. Oh wait, this isn’t NFL.com sweet!

I would say it’s a bit of an over-reaction on both player and fans…..Foster was best to not even acknowledge the “fantasy” issue. It kind of compares to a person who strives to be an actor or celeb and then when they finally hit it big they complain about the paparazzi……it goes with the territory I’m afraid. Two years ago Foster would’ve been elated to get even one tweet as he was a no-name, done nothing bench warmer. Fantasy football fans are first and foremost football fans and they are the people most responsible for the huge salaries that players make. No different than a fan who buys a ticket to a sporting event and then being told it doesn’t provide him the opportunity to say anything negative about the team or a player. While the things Foster may be hearing are perhaps in “bad taste”, he needs to be the one to grow up.

skoobyfl, you do realize that is exactly what Arian Foster is doing? His focus is getting ready for week 1. He made a point to state that he despised those who only care about his fantasy football status. Honestly, did you even read what he said?

I play fantasy football, and I’ll admit there are selfish reasons for wanting players to stay healthy. I’d never place more value on my fantasy team’s health than a human being’s health, though. Anyone who would isn’t exactly going to shed tears over being scolded by Foster on Twitter, though. And to some extent, worrying about one’s fantasy team when discussing injuries isn’t really any different than getting upset about an injury because it will hurt your favorite NFL team’s chances.

Fantasy football is just a game, and not anything uber-important in the grand scheme of things, but IMHO, the popularity of fantasy football is at least partially responsible for the rise in popularity of the NFL. A lot of people wouldn’t be spending money on Sunday Ticket/Red Zone if they didn’t play fantasy football. It’s not something easily quantifiable, but I’m sure that TV revenues, merchandise revenues, and endorsement revenues are all increased somewhat simply because fantasy football has helped increase the average Joe’s knowledge of the league and it’s players. That all results in higher income for those players, so while I understand their frustration w/fans who seem to care more about their own fake team than the player’s real injury, it’s counter-productive for the players to insult the fans who indirectly pay their salaries. It’s also hypocritical for a player who participated in a labor dispute to get more money to insult fans who are trying to make a little extra cash by winning a fantasy league.

fantasy football is the worse thing that has ever happened to the nfl how about you actually cheer on a team instead of stats

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The vast majority of fantasy football players DO cheer for an NFL team. They hope for good stats for “their” players, but generally are more interested in real-life success for their NFL team than anything else. The fantasy team is just bonus entertainment, with a chance for some fun money at the end of the year. It doesn’t replace rooting for an NFL franchise.

He’s got Lawrence Vickers blocking for him now. He’ll be fine. Vickers helped make Jerome Harrison look like Jim Brown at the end of ’09, and made Peyton Hillis a household name in ’10. Whether he’s quite as good as Leach, I can’t say, but he’s definitely one of the better blocking fullbacks in the league.

Foster and the rest of the players were begging for fan support during the recent lockout when THEY wanted more money, less practice time, etc……..now that they got what they wanted it’s back to “the hell with the fans”.

Foster has got one or two good seasons left in him. Todays running backs come out of college and put all they have into their first couple of years. By doing that, most of them destroy their bodies and by year three or four they spend more time on the sideline than in the game. Besides that, their opponents are twice the size than years past. That certainly cannot help.

Oh stop crying Foster. Its not like you have cancer and people dont care. Its a hammy, and even if it ended your career right now you would still live a full fortunate life with your millions of dollars. Stop crying because people aren’t soulfully concerned about your hammy.

fantasy football is the worse thing that has ever happened to the nfl how about you actually cheer on a team instead of stats
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it amazes me how many thumbs down this guy got, especially when he’s 100% correct. i guess theres a few REAL fans left who cheer for a team and not a player

I mean he will any way and the Colts will win that division by default, but you know he’s going to screw with his running backs again for no good reason. On top of being a head coach, he does some dumb things like bench a running back for no good reason or keep Ahman Green on the roster.

(Also, if you think that fantasy football is ruining the NFL, who do you think is going to watch a meaningless Week 15 game between two teams who have combined for 5 wins all season? Die-hard fans and fantasy football players, that’s who.)

Fantasy football is great fun, and one of the BEST things to happen to the NFL. It makes games that I normally wouldn’t care about interesting.

But sending a message via Twitter directly to a guy that’s injured, telling him he’s wrecking your world if he doesn’t play… way to show you have no social skills, no empathy, and a huge sense of entitlement.

LOL this coming from the Poster Boy of Fantasy Land…signed a one year league min $500k contract in July?

“July 31, 2011 The Texans have announced that Foster, an exclusive-rights free agent (i.e., not a free agent), signed his one-year tender for the third-year minimum, which under the new labor deal has increased to $525,000.”

Positive thoughts Arian? Fantasy speak right there…a back who is going to tote the ball 250+ times, doesn’t sign for Min.

I understand what he was saying, it is ridiculous to truly be upset over an injury. I understand being disappointed your first round pick is hurt but to go to twitter and say something to the player is low.
On another note I would not and did not draft him in any league. To worried about him being a one hit wonder. Goodluck Arian I appreciate your response with his honesty. Gotta respect that.

The NFL is a $9.1B a year industry. Fantasy Football is a $4B per year industry. In other words, significant amounts of NFL revenue comes from fantasy football licensing each year. Fantasy football increases fan intrest in meaningless games and dramatically increases the NFL’s revenue base which pays both owners and players.

Bottom line: Fantasy Football Owners pay a significant portion of Foster’s salary both directly and indirectly.

I understand that there are a few people that take fantasy football too seriously and a very small number of them sent him harrasing emails. However, Arian Foster is in the Entertainment Business and you don’t go after the people that pay your bills. It is very rare for other entertainers such as musicians and movie starts to go after their fans even when the fans are a little obnoxious. The ones that do don’t last long in the business.

Foster makes more in a year than most people make in a lifetime. The 99.99% of fantasy football fans that did not Foster a hostile email or wish him ill will need to have an apology given to them and Foster needs to realize that extreme critism goes with the territory in the entertainment industry.

The downside of social networking at its best. If you aren’t happy that people are upset because they drafted you for fantasy football, get rid of Facebook and Twitter and whatever else you’re a part of. Fantasy football is a multi million dollar business and the people that play are pretty passionate about it.

Think of it this way…you could be the fourth string RB and if you got hurt in preseason, no one would care because it probably wouldn’t hurt their fantasy team.

no were not sick we just want to make sure we dont/didnt make a big mistake by drafting you over ap. to me it dont matter when u come back, u wont be a part of los guapos fantasy football team anyways. ben tate on the other hand its ur chance to shine DONT MESS THIS UP!!!

Though I agree with his sentiments regarding fantasy football, it sounds like he’s feeling the pressure of Ben Tate quietly regaining the upper hand in the Texans backfield. Coming off of a season with absolutely no competition in the backfield along with playing in a division with no notable run defenses boosted his worth as well as his ego, but I think he’s sensed a platoon-even when healthy. Tate wants “his” job back. That’s the issue here.

“So fans who care about money/fantasy football are sick but players who hold out for money and don’t care about their teams are perfectly fine?”

Dude is playing for $500k this year.

“Absent fantasy football no one outside of Houston would have any idea who you are.”

Not having a clue about a man who reminds many of Hall of Famer and record breaker Eric Dickerson would make me second guess my machismo when prognosticating a Monday morning quarterback game like fantasy football.

Fantasy Football and gambling is the only reason why Foster makes a bloated salary for playing a game.

Without that interest from those fans Mr Foster, you are working at McDonalds my friend because people wouldnt give a crap about the game and be paying those outragous prices for tickets and tv packages.

I got a word for you that rhymes with “sick” and describes what you are!

“Not having a clue about a man who reminds many of Hall of Famer and record breaker Eric Dickerson would make me second guess my machismo when prognosticating a Monday morning quarterback game like fantasy football.”

Is “many” code for his immediate family.

A lot of running backs looked like Hall of Famer’s against the defenses in that division last year. LOL

Wow you guys are lame. First off NFL was successfull long before fantasy football geeks came to annoy us. Second of all you guys should be happy that Foster isn’t holding out like every other player who ever out performed his contract.Thirdly how would you feel if you got hurt and couldn’t work and like 10,000 people started complaining at you about how it affects them instead of saying something encouraging like get well soon. Foster might be a bit crazy with his poetry and crap but at least hes a good teammate and isn’t completely about the money like certain other Nfl players. Also Ben Tate while hes finally showing up was behind foster last year on the depth chart and has no chance of taking away any playing time from Foster unless Foster can’t play at all.

Reality is any player that get hurt before or during the regular season hurts fantasy football. Dont NOBODY realy cares about that team. Only the player. Sucks huh ‘ but reality. I like adrian foster’ he a dynomite player but just like people outside of houston ‘ we wouldn’t care less about the Texans